End Day

End Day is a 2005 docu-drama produced by the BBC and aired on the National Geographic Channel, on the TV series, National Geographic Channel Presents, that depicts various doomsday scenarios. The documentary follows the fictional scientist Dr. Howell, played by Glenn Conroy, as he travels from his London hotel room to his laboratory in New York City, and shows how each scenario affects his journey as well as those around him, with various experts providing commentary on that specific disaster as it unfolds.

Below are the various catastrophes depicted in the order they occur in the film:

Mega-Tsunami

In this scenario, a volcanic eruption on the island of La Palma triggers a massive landslide wherein a sizable portion of the island collapses into the sea, causing a massive mega-tsunami to race across the Atlantic ocean and strike the east coast of the United States, inundating most of New York City, but leaving many buildings intact.

Killer Asteroid

This scenario begins with a mysterious ‘missile attack’ in a remote area somewhere in the Middle East. The ‘missiles’ are soon revealed to be small asteroid fragments, the advance guard of a much larger asteroid on a collision course with Earth, threatening Berlin, Germany. The asteroid is located and an attempt is made to alter its course using nuclear ICBMs. The attempt fails, resulting in the asteroid being broken into hundreds of smaller pieces with the biggest piece then impacting and obliterating Berlin.

Global Pandemic

In this scenario, a mysterious virus similar to SARS or influenza is unleashed, wreaking havoc as it spreads at a phenomenal rate throughout Europe, the UK, and North America, prompting many countries to enact martial law and close their borders in a frantic attempt to quarantine the spread of the disease, but are unsuccessful.

Supervolcano

This scenario is based on the supervolcano beneath Yellowstone National Park erupting, incinerating everything within 100 km and releasing ash into the atmosphere which cools the earth. This segment has only aired in the UK. This scenario was explored in depth in another BBC docudrama, Supervolcano.

Strange Matter

This is the only scenario in which Dr. Howell reaches his laboratory unhindered, with people protesting, and shouting,”STOP THE EXPERIMENT!” outside. Upon arrival, he and his colleagues initiate a highly controversial experiment using the world’s largest particle accelerator. The experiment quickly goes out of control, resulting in the creation of a new type of matter called a strangelet, which begins to consume and destroy all matter around it, starting with New York City. The phenomenon wreaks havoc on Earth’s weather systems and atmosphere, and eventually leads to Earth’s off-screen destruction.

Watch the full documentary (56 minutes)

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